Modern States aimed free online courses at AP and CLEP exams so MOOC learners earn credit

WIRED reported in January 2015 that Steven Klinsky, founder of private equity firm New Mountain Capital, and his nonprofit Modern States Education Alliance launched Freshman Year for Free, aiming to put a full range of freshman-level courses online for anyone. Unlike most MOOCs, the courses prepare students for accredited exams, the Advanced Placement test and the College Level Examination Program (CLEP), so that completing them can lead to real college credit, potentially a full year's worth.

That addressed a hole in online education: millions took free courses from schools such as Harvard and MIT through Coursera and edX, but those who finished had no way to get credit. Klinsky said it was like giving out free Cadillacs when no one can get a driver's licence. Changing that would need systemic change, and universities would have to cannibalise their own business by giving the same credit to non-paying students. By using courses to prepare for exams colleges already credit, the programme avoided asking universities to overhaul their models.

Klinsky had donated $1 million to edX, which was working with top colleges on a series of courses for the programme. edX already offered 10 AP and CLEP test prep courses and the funding would help create 20 more, hosted on the Modern States Portal.

Build free courses that prepare students for AP and CLEP exams, which colleges already credit.

Colleges already award credit for AP and CLEP exam scores, so no new accreditation was needed.

Universities were not asked to give away credit, so there was no conflict with their tuition income.

Free courses give learners who never attended college an on-ramp to initial costs.

Rice University's administrator said such courses could help level the field for students without AP access.

If a system will not change, point your product at an existing credential gate instead of asking the gate to move.

As of the January 2015 article the programme had just launched; the $1 million edX donation and 20 planned courses were the only concrete steps, and no student credit results were reported. Klinsky acknowledged MOOCs' low retention and compared them to a public library, where not everyone reads the books.